On Wednesday, the protesters condemned the continued detention of the political prisoners, specially Sheikh Ali Salman, the secretary general of Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society. They also called for their immediate release.
Protesters also held a demonstration in Al-Musalla in the capital Manama demanding the release of Sheikh Ali Salman.
Salman was detained last December on charges, including seeking regime change and collaborating with foreign powers. He denied the charges during his first court hearing on January 28.
His arrest has triggered condemnation inside and outside Bahrain, with leaders, governments and international organizations across the world calling for his immediate release.
Salman’s trial, initially scheduled for April 22, has been adjourned until May 20.
Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the al-Khalifa dynasty.
Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.
So far, tens of protesters have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.
